silkannthreadeshttps://silkannthreades.wordpress.com
about the little things in lifeFri, 04 Aug 2017 10:23:14 +0000enhourly1http://wordpress.com/https://secure.gravatar.com/blavatar/b8d20bfe71e75bc5ae967be95c9f672b?s=96&d=https%3A%2F%2Fs2.wp.com%2Fi%2Fbuttonw-com.pngsilkannthreadeshttps://silkannthreades.wordpress.com
T.i.c.k. t.o.c.k.https://silkannthreades.wordpress.com/2017/03/04/6559/
https://silkannthreades.wordpress.com/2017/03/04/6559/#commentsSat, 04 Mar 2017 08:00:45 +0000http://silkannthreades.wordpress.com/?p=6559]]>For the first time this year I have slipped in to the zone of a ‘Slow Watch’.

My stay here may only last 24 hours but I intend to luxuriate in every nano second of it :

doors wide open to gentle breeze, soft sun, and cicada song;

table full- laden with gifts from friends and garden;

Gifts from garden and friends

the noisy, bustling, tilted world of recent weeks,

Busy

restrained, then replaced by sweet moments

Sweet bites

of the rightful order of a steady, subtlety silent, tick by tock.

The Rightful Order

With thanks to Nath at Beautycalypse for introducing me to the reframing of time via the Slow Watch.

]]>https://silkannthreades.wordpress.com/2017/03/04/6559/feed/158silkannthreadesGifts of garden and friendsBusySweet bitesThe Rightful OrderLet there be light ~Baquer Namazihttps://silkannthreades.wordpress.com/2016/12/20/let-there-be-light-baquer-namazi/
https://silkannthreades.wordpress.com/2016/12/20/let-there-be-light-baquer-namazi/#commentsTue, 20 Dec 2016 02:00:51 +0000http://silkannthreades.wordpress.com/?p=6546]]>Last week, I told a friend I would add joy to my next Advent post because it has been noticeably absent from my journey towards Christmas. Well, I searched for joy ~ I really did ~ but the closest I could get to it, for this fourth Sunday in Advent, was:

‘ Let there be light, let there be understanding,
let all the nations gather, let them be face to face.

Open our lips, open our minds to ponder,
open the door of concord opening into grace.’

May you all be blessed with some measure of peace, hope, and joy, now and always.

And, in closing……

I would like to dedicate this post to Baquer Namazi and his family. Baquer Namazi was my husband’s colleague for many years. He was recently sentenced to 10 years in prison in Iran. As he is 80 years old, and in poor health, this sentence is tantamount to life imprisonment. Bacquer’s former employer, UNICEF, has issued several statements about his plight, all of which I endorse.

Here is one of them.

UNICEF Statement on detention of Baquer Namazi

NEW YORK, 6 September 2016 – “It has now been over six months since Baquer Namazi, a respected former employee of UNICEF, was detained in Iran. His colleagues at UNICEF, and especially those who once worked with him, are deeply concerned about his health and well-being – as we stated on 3 March. Our concern has grown ever since.

“Mr. Namazi served at UNICEF as Representative for Somalia, Kenya and Egypt, among other positions. He worked tirelessly on behalf of the children in all those positions, often in highly difficult circumstances. He deserves a peaceful retirement.

“UNICEF does not engage in politics. We hope that Mr. Namazi will be treated as the humanitarian that he is, and that a humane perspective can be brought to his plight.

“Our thoughts remain with him and all his many friends and loved ones.”

And President-in-waiting, Donald Trump, has, of course, issued a tweet: “Well, Iran has done it again. Taken two of our people and asking for a fortune for their release. This doesn’t happen if I’m president!” (Note: I don’t know what fortune, Donald Trump, is talking about.)

Our family’s thoughts and love are with Baquer Namazi and his family. We hope that humanity and justice will prevail, and that a good man will be released.

]]>https://silkannthreades.wordpress.com/2016/12/20/let-there-be-light-baquer-namazi/feed/148silkannthreadesLet there be lightAdventureshttps://silkannthreades.wordpress.com/2016/12/11/6535/
https://silkannthreades.wordpress.com/2016/12/11/6535/#commentsSun, 11 Dec 2016 03:03:13 +0000http://silkannthreades.wordpress.com/?p=6535]]>Like many bloggers this year, I am looking at Christmas through the lens of Advent. For me, it is a way to salvage some of the sweetness of the holy season, as well as a way to ease the despair which often engulfs me at this time of year.

]]>https://silkannthreades.wordpress.com/2016/12/03/christmas-is-coming/feed/126silkannthreadesChristmas is ComingMemories of a Tablehttps://silkannthreades.wordpress.com/2016/10/28/memories-of-a-table/
https://silkannthreades.wordpress.com/2016/10/28/memories-of-a-table/#commentsFri, 28 Oct 2016 03:51:27 +0000http://silkannthreades.wordpress.com/?p=6517]]>No words today; just memories of the whimsy, the wildlings, the wonders, and the worries which have been at my table this spring.

]]>https://silkannthreades.wordpress.com/2016/10/28/memories-of-a-table/feed/156silkannthreadesThe Colour of Springhttps://silkannthreades.wordpress.com/2016/09/25/the-colour-of-spring/
https://silkannthreades.wordpress.com/2016/09/25/the-colour-of-spring/#commentsSun, 25 Sep 2016 08:35:46 +0000http://silkannthreades.wordpress.com/?p=6499]]>In my mind’s eye the colour of spring is tender: pink and white and violet, and dimpled daffodil yellow; diaphanous blue; soft, lush green; all steeped in warm, lemon honey sunshine. But that is not often the reality of spring, particularly in Christchurch where, in September, the average sunshine hours per day number 5.5.

No, the colour of spring is more nuanced than my mind’s eye would have it. It is frequently overcast with grey,

Spring Grey

and dim drizzle, (skip to the end of the video if you are interested in the cherry blossom)

and shaded skies.

Spring under shaded sky

But for all that my spring is not mental picture-perfect, I still love it. And I will take it any way it comes.

I love spring however it is served; but I don’t eat daffodils ~ they’re poisonous ~ just saying ;).

]]>https://silkannthreades.wordpress.com/2016/09/25/the-colour-of-spring/feed/188silkannthreadesSpring GreySpring under shaded skyI love spring however it is served.Does your life have a soundtrack?https://silkannthreades.wordpress.com/2016/09/10/6485/
https://silkannthreades.wordpress.com/2016/09/10/6485/#commentsSat, 10 Sep 2016 02:40:54 +0000http://silkannthreades.wordpress.com/?p=6485]]>Most of my readers will know about the earthquakes we experienced in Christchurch in 2010 and 2011 as well as the continuing aftershocks. The aftershocks are now minor and infrequent, yet the enormous impact of the initial earthquakes lives with us still. It is inescapable. It is omnipresent. The mark of the earthquakes is as good as branded upon us, seared into our being and into our land; indelible, ingrained, forever.

Yet our branding mark is no longer as raw and painful as it once was. There is healing. Healing which comes through significant milestones, like the recent opening of Helmores Lane Bridge; the only surviving 19th century timber bridge in Christchurch.

I didn’t attend the official opening, but the following day I visited the bridge for the simple pleasure of crossing it, and then standing midway to take in one of my favourite views in Christchurch.

This is what I saw. It was not what I heard.

I added a soundtrack to the video to drown out the earthquake reconstruction din which permeates the air almost everywhere in Christchurch.

The true soundtrack of our lives is an impromptu, improvised, unfinished symphony which I call “Earthquaked.” You can hear a bit of it in this next video ( and, happily, some birdsong, too.)

Unfortunately in my attempt to keep my video as short as possible, I edited out most of the noisiest noise. Hopefully, there’s enough left to give you an idea of “Earthquaked”, within the first 48 seconds; which is the average viewing time on my You Tube channel.

p.s. Readers who are sharp-eyed grammarians will notice I have not placed an apostrophe in Helmores Lane. It is my natural inclination to do so, and the media articles, including one by the City Council, on the opening of the bridge certainly use an apostrophe. BUT it is my understanding that city councils in New Zealand do not usually use the apostrophe in street signage, and the New Zealand Geographic Board does not usually do so in place names. There are exceptions, of course. As far as I know Helmores Lane is not one of them. I am happy to be corrected on this apostrophe.

We have an open and generous relationship, so I know you won’t mind if I let you in on my latest dalliance. You see, I have neglected you shamefully because I am flirting with You Tube. It’s an innocent enough flirtation but I am rather shy about admitting to it. It seems a bit silly flirting with You Tube in my older years. ( And probably making a fool of myself in the process. )

If you would like to see what we’ve been up to, You Tube and I, come on over to Gallivanta H. You may find something to make you smile; like this

And, don’t worry, as much as my flirtatious fling with You Tube is fun, my heart belongs to my WordPress family. I am not planning to desert you.

Your friend in blogging,

Gallivanta.

Warning: you may find ads on some of my You Tube videos.

On a more sensible note, I am trying out You Tube because I am curious to see how it works, particularly in terms of monetization. And I am keen to see how I cope with the challenge of making videos. At the moment I find the process difficult, and my admiration has grown, in leaps and bounds, for those who make beautiful, skillful videos. Lens caps off to them.

As a way of bringing a lighter, brighter look to my house, I have let her creative spirit have free rein in my domain. There are new paintings everywhere. And some of her old ones, too.

They make me smile. They remind me that spring is nearly here; that the magnolia is about to bloom again. They remind me that my dreary, old soul will soon be revived by longer hours of daylight; longer hours of sunshine.

Here’s a look at some of my artist’s work. Do you know who she is? If you are long time reader of this blog, you have met her before. Of course, she isn’t physically in residence, but what fun it would be if she really were.

The little girl in me

Portrait of Gallivanta’s Magnolia

More Magnolias

Just the two of us

Dog in residence

Jack, the perfect artist’s model-in-residence

I haven’t taken photos for a while. I am out of practice. It shows. I think I need a photographer-in-residence!

]]>https://silkannthreades.wordpress.com/2016/08/01/6454/feed/157silkannthreadesThe little girl in mePortrait of Gallivanta's MagnoliaMore MagnoliasJust the two of usDog in residenceJack, the perfect artist's model-in-residenceAn Honest House: A Memoir by Cynthia Reyeshttps://silkannthreades.wordpress.com/2016/05/15/an-honest-house-a-memoir-by-cynthia-reyes/
https://silkannthreades.wordpress.com/2016/05/15/an-honest-house-a-memoir-by-cynthia-reyes/#commentsSun, 15 May 2016 06:18:18 +0000http://silkannthreades.wordpress.com/2016/05/15/an-honest-house-a-memoir-by-cynthia-reyes/Diane Taylor: An Honest House is a rich memoir that moves through a ten-year period of Cynthia Reyes’s life. In the midst of a successful career, family life with children blooming, she and her husband move to an old farmhouse surrounded by gardens they love. It’s just north of Toronto. Against this…]]>

An Honest House is a rich memoir that moves through a ten-year period of Cynthia Reyes’s life. In the midst of a successful career, family life with children blooming, she and her husband move to an old farmhouse surrounded by gardens they love. It’s just north of Toronto. Against this idyllic backdrop, PTSD strikes.

An Honest House, a second memoir by Cynthia Reyes

A car accident leaves Reyes with debilitating pain and Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder and its attendant depression, inability to concentrate, inability to sleep, nightmares, regimens of pain killers, difficulty walking and years of physio. The dream house becomes a prison.

In case you are thinking this is a hard luck story, it’s not. Good memoirs bring light into the world, and An Honest House beams light from every page. Bit by bit, from deepest despair to light-hearted jocularity, we accompany Cynthia Reyes as she “grows up”, to use…